Over the past several months I’ve had the pleasure of listening to people from across the district. Like many across the country, you’ve shared with me that one of your greatest concerns is access to affordable, quality healthcare. Through research, conversations with those in the medical field and representatives from Connect for Health Colorado I’ve come up with a very doable plan.

In moving our country toward a population of healthy people, I support Medicare for All. While I wish providing Medicare for All were as simple as flipping a magic switch, it is not. This plan will be a process. Until Medicare for All can be completely implemented I propose a Public Option for every American. This Option will not be free, but rather have premiums based on individual or family income and size.

The Public Option would include, but would not be limited to, the following:

*Hospitalization Coverage *Wellness and Preventative Care

*Mental Illness Treatment . *Addiction Recovery Treatment

*Women's Reproductive Care *Prescription Drug Coverage

According to the Center of Disease Control workplace absenteeism due to employee illness costs American employers $225.8 Billionannually. Harvard Business Review has reported ‘more employees are working when they are sick, costing employers about $150 billion to $250 billion” annually in lost productivity. That is a staggering $400 billion economic loss every year due to employee illness!

It is time our government recognize what you and I already know; America’s greatest resource is its people! My proposal invests in the health of American workers, American students, and American families. That investment will pay in dividends of a stronger workforce, more stable families and more successful students! When we invest in our people we invest in the health and wealth of America.

October has been filled with lots of exciting as well as challenging days! Our campaign has done some traveling, organized a memorial for a local hero and proudly announced a national endorsement.

Christopher Roybal, a Navy Veteran and Colorado Springs resident, was killed in the mass shooting in Las Vegas earlier this month. He was shot while trying to get others to safety. In conjunction with the staff of Crunch Fitness, where Chris was employed, our campaign team organized a community memorial to express our gratitude and honor Chris' selfless act of heroism. Our country has had to hold far too many of these services and when in Washington I will fight for RESPONSIBLE gun ownership legislation.

On October 21st, my team and I announced that the campaign has received a national endorsement from FreeThought Equality Fund. The endorsement is given to candidates who will represent all constituents, regardless of religious affiliation.

Also in October, I met with members of the Fountain Valley Dems, the Cascade Volunteer Fire Department and members of the Cascade community, took part in two Betty Field Listens LIVE Facebook events, met the amazing couple first to marry in Colorado after marriage equality become the law of the land, and had lots of fun at the Deerfield Community Center's Trunk or Treat. We've been busy!

As the campaign looks into November we are planning a trip to Alma, participation in a Voices of Youth forum, a Planned Parenthood volunteering event, visits to local VFW chapters and of course, meeting and listening to as many CD5 residents as possible!

Dorchester Park on South Nevada is ‘home’ to many of our neighbors without a standard permanent address. I spent the afternoon there, helping Cindy and Jeri distribute food as part of the Spreading Smiles and Sandwiches effort. The family atmosphere felt familiar, almost like the family picnics we have all enjoyed. The difference was this wasn’t a picnic. For those that call Dorchester Park home, this was everyday life. Plastic forks, paper plates, the hard bench of a picnic table or the cold, damp ground is their daily dining room.

As I visited with this family, I witnessed great compassion, love, frustration, and hope. One woman truly inspired me. MJ, a 70-year-old woman, quietly ate her lunch at the end of the dirty table. Others would stop to greet her as they took their food to their own spot in the dining room. She offered each of them a genuine smile as they exchanged pleasantries or updates on other friends. MJ was obviously the matriarch of the family.

People finished eating and took their empty paper plates and plastic utensils to the already full trash cans. MJ picked up the large black garbage bag that was at her feet, put plastic shopping bags on her hands, and began picking up the trash that overflowed from the trash cans, setting aside any soda cans to be taken to a recycler. As I helped her gather trash, we talked.

MJ’s bed was a blanket on the concrete next to a building. Everything she owned was on that blanket. While we talked, she told me about the harassment she has suffered, she talked about the children that lived with their parents in the park and talked about her fear of the upcoming winter. As we finished gathering trash, I asked her what she needed most. She said she needed a tarp. A tarp. With the rain we’ve been having, her ‘bed’ was always damp and her belongings were being damaged. She didn’t place blame, didn’t complain, she quietly cleaned her home and tended her family.

A man I spoke with shared with me a unique idea and effort he was making in helping himself and others find work. He had collected the names and previous occupations of others living on the streets. Every day he would check Craigslist trying to find jobs matching those occupations and skills. He hoped to convince businesses that implementing a ‘homeless preference’ when hiring would benefit not only the homeless, but the businesses and the community as well. He told me that finding employment was almost impossible because one of the first requirements on a job application is an address. Again, there was no blame, no sense of entitlement, only the desire to find a way to better himself and others.

The last man I spoke to wanted me to know that not every homeless person was a drug addict or a criminal. Many had small incomes but not nearly enough to cover the rising rents here in Colorado Springs. Low wages, the rising cost of rent, and inadequate availability of affordable housing have led to an increase in the number of our neighbors living on our streets. In the last five years, the stock market has doubled and so has our homeless population. Basing the health of our economy on the stock market only indicates the economic health of America’s wealthy. Only when America provides adequate affordable housing, a living wage, equal educational opportunities, and healthcare for all, can we claim a healthy national economy.

Some of my team members and I spent Wednesday afternoon at the Sand Creek Library taking part in Upcycle CD5. Who Gives A Scrap, a craft store made up entirely of upcycled items, joined us and provided fun 'trash to treasure' crafting ideas. Meghan and Susan Taylor demonstrated how to make crocheted mats our of plastic shopping bags and how to turn an old t-shirt into an awesome fringed purse!

Taking care of our environment is the responsibility of us all! Learning to re-purpose items and recycle others is something we can all do in our everyday lives.

When in Washington I will continue my commitment to the environment by supporting legislation that moves our country toward renewable energy, responsible manufacturing, and community access to affordable recycling options.